


Sad.  Beautiful.  Tragic.

by ashleyfanfic



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-08-26
Packaged: 2018-08-11 05:11:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,845
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7877806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ashleyfanfic/pseuds/ashleyfanfic
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermione Granger returns home to England five years after her relationship with Draco Malfoy ended.  Things and people have changed and things are not always how they appear.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sad

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the novel "Persuasion" by Jane Austen. Anne and Captain Wentworth's tale really spoke to me. To be honest, I had started to work on Elizabeth and Darcy from "Pride and Prejudice". However, this story kept forcing its way forward. I actually think that "Persuasion" is my favorite of all Austen's novels and the more I read it, the more I love it. I hope all of you like this as much as I enjoyed writing it.
> 
> Summary of Anne/Wentworth (Persuasion): Anne Elliot fell in love with the poor Fredrick Wentworth. However, she was dissuaded from marrying him by a close friend of the family due to his poor estate. However, she remained unmarried during the seven year absence of Wentworth as he went off to war and made a name and fortune for himself. When he returns to Anne's life, he is bitter about the past. However, he soon discovers that despite all of his efforts to put distance between them physically and emotionally, his love for her never went away. It is only after Anne finally stands up for herself that she is able to show Wentworth that her feelings for him have never gone away, and even though other opportunities arose for her to move on and even marry someone else, she turned them away due to her love for him.

Draco examined the ledger on his desk and didn’t look up as his mother entered into his study and took a seat in front of him. She was silent as she watched him, his blond head bowed over the leather bound book and thought about the opportunities that Draco had missed in his life. The luxury of never knowing war, pain, or heartbreak. She had caused some of it. Or, at least, she was a party to some of it.

“Draco,” she finally said when he still hadn't acknowledge her presence.

He finally looked up, seemingly surprised by her presence. “Mother? Is something wrong?”

She heaved a sigh. “I’ve gotten a hold of a piece of gossip that I…I think you should know.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Um…alright?” He was confused. His mother knew how he hated gossip, especially if he was the subject of rumors or untruths. 

“Hermione Granger is back,” she said and watched as something flashed behind her son’s eyes. However, it was gone as quickly as it appeared. His affair with Hermione had once been the subject of gossip among his mother’s friends, which is how it all came to an end. “How long has it been since you’ve seen her?”

“Five years,” he answered quickly. “Why are you telling me this?”

She heaved a sigh. “Your father is gone. I…I did what I thought was best for you and our family five years ago. But I’ve watched you over time, and…I’m afraid I made a mistake in going along with your father.”

Draco leaned forward, propping his elbows on the wood. “Mother, I…could be angry with you, but I’m not. I was passive in all of it. I allowed her to leave. I allowed everything that transpired. I have blame in this as well.”

Narcissa wrung her hands together. “If there is a possibility that you could reconcile…”

“I doubt that is a possibility,” he said sadly. 

“But if the smallest chance exists...take it,” she said softly. 

“I thought you wanted me to marry a Pureblood girl to keep the prestige of the family?”

She shook her head. “All I want now is your happiness. Astoria wasn’t the solution. Daphne nor Pansy. Maybe you had it and we took it away from you.”

He leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll consider it.”

She nodded and stood to leave him alone with his thoughts. He turned to the large window behind him and stared out at the black sky, thinking back on the last time he saw Hermione and how wretched it had all ended.

_”You’re engaged?!” She asked as she stormed into his study and threw the Daily Prophet at him. He read over the headline and stood abruptly at seeing his name linked to Astoria Greengrass. He looked up at Hermione and shook his head. “So, the Daily Prophet is lying?” She was in her fighting stance, hands on her hips, head up, shoulders back. However, he could see part of her waiver at the thought that all of this could have been a great misunderstanding._

_“They’re misinformed,” he said as he stared at her. She was angry and obviously hurt. She was trying desperately to keep the tears at bay and seemed to be doing a wonderful job of it. “This is the first I’m hearing that I’m engaged.”_

_She tilted her head at him and folded her arms over her chest. “What are you not telling me, Draco? I want the truth, and not the half-truths that Slytherins are used to dealing in.”_

_He heaved a sigh. “My parents want to marry me off to Astoria for reputation and money. They mentioned it to me, but I thought…I thought it was a suggestion, not something they actually wanted me to pursue.”_

_“Then tell them ‘no’.”_

_He looked down at the paper and frowned. “How?” When he looked back up at her, he felt all of the sadness that was clearly displayed on her face. “How do I put myself first? How do I tell them that I’m not willing to sacrifice everything for our family given how much they’ve given for me?”_

_“You would consider marrying someone you don’t love for your family?”_

_He rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ve been prepared to marry someone I didn’t love since I was seven years old. It wasn’t even something I really thought too much on…”_

_“And now that you’ve thought about it?” she questioned._

_“I love you.” Her arms dropped to her side and her face seemed to be more open. Her face softened and he actually felt his heart physically ache when he realized that he was going to break her heart just as he was going to destroy his. “But I owe my family my life and…we’re nearly financially destitute…”_

_“Money? You would trade in love for money?” she whispered._

_“I would trade love for my blood.”_

_She took a step back and was actually surprised she didn’t hex him. Instead she frowned and the tears she had been holding back flowed freely down her face. He wanted to turn away, but he knew that he caused her pain and so he should have to endure what it looked like. “Blood. It always comes back to that, doesn’t it?”_

_He propped his hands on his desk and lowered his head. “What do you want me to do? I love you. Hopelessly. Desperately,” he said as he looked up at her. “But that solves nothing. It doesn’t fix the problems that my family is having. We can’t keep up the manor. We can’t keep our company up and running because of the restitution we had to pay. This…this could fix the problems my family is currently experiencing.”_

_She shook her head. “You’re not the man I thought you were…”_

_He moved around his desk and stood directly in front of her. “I’m…I wish I could do this differently. I would give nearly anything to have you in my life…”_

_“You don’t get to say that. You don’t get to make promises or declarations to me that obviously mean so little to you.”_

_“Hermione, please…”_

_“Please what? You’re going to marry someone else, Draco! What do you want me to do? Be your mistress? Be your pet that you come to see when you feel like a roll in the mud?”_

_He lowered his head, feeling ashamed because that’s exactly what he was hoping for. “I don’t want to lose you…”_

_“You already have,” she said as she turned on her heel and left._

__

It was probably too much to hope that she had remained unattached. It was nearly more than he could bear to even think about the possibility of their being some kind of future with her. Not now. Not after so much time has passed and he hurt her so deeply. He only hoped that she might possibly still have some feeling for him.

He contemplated why he let her leave. And she didn’t just leave his home or his life. She left the country to escape. He had started to owl her a hundred times, to beg her to come back, but the truth was he didn’t think he deserved her. He was always uncertain how to move on from their past that had been so filled with animosity. As he stared at the ceiling, he wondered how things could have gone differently. He didn’t know if they would have made it long term, but the possibility of a future had been enough for him to try. It had been five long years since he’d seen her or heard her voice. Just the thought made his heart race a bit. He had spent so much time burying himself in his work to avoid any feelings about this that now, faced with it, he wasn’t quite sure how he would hand actually seeing her.


	2. Beautiful.

Draco was seated at the Leaky Cauldron with Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott, Astoria Greengrass-Nott, Marcus Flint and Katie Bell two weeks later. Hermione had been on his mind constantly, and if he wasn’t working he was ruminating on the failures he had as a man and one that had professed to love Hermione.

He had used some of his connections to find out that she wasn’t attached and that she had moved back to accept a position as the head of the Magical Law Department. She would oversee the writing of new laws. He knew it was a position that she had always longed for, and he was glad to see that she had achieved her dream job. She could effect change the way she wanted, finally.

However, he couldn’t deny that he hoped she would contact him. And as he sat with his mates and watched them joke around and the various couples there, he felt more alone than ever. “Where are you, Draco?” Astoria asked.

He smirked. “In a far off land, I’m afraid.”

“Oh? Like Neverland? I always did think you would look dashing in tights,” Blaise joked.

“Sod off, wanker,” Draco said, playfully shoving Blaise.

The bell over the door dinged, and Draco only cast a glance at it before his eyes were transfixed by the sight that greeted him. It was her. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun, the top button of her shirt was undone, and the pencil skirt she wore hugged her curves and made him long for times past where he could have appreciated her properly. Actually, he would still love to ravage her where she stood, especially with that skirt. She knew he had a thing for them.

Astoria, who was seated next to Draco, noticed his attention turn from the table and she smirked. “Some things don’t seem to change.”

He tore his eyes away from Hermione and looked at Astoria. “What was that?”

“Even when we were engaged, whenever her name was mentioned, you perked up like a meerkat.” Astoria even did a humorous portrayal of one of the creatures by perking up and bringing her hands in front of her. “It’s been how long since you’ve seen here?” her tone turned more serious.

“Since our engagement hit the papers.”

“And no contact since?” Blaise asked.

“I was engaged.”

“You’re not, now,” Katie supplied. “Why don’t you go talk to her?”

He shook his head. “No thanks. I don’t feel like being hexed in public.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” Theo added. “This entire thing is ridiculous.”

Draco heaved a sigh. “I know you all feel that way…”

“It’s a fact, at this point,” Theo added. “Why don’t you just tell her that you didn’t marry Astoria, I did, and that you’ve spent the better part of five years pining away for her?”

He shook his head. “I’m going for another pint. Anyone else?”

They all shook their heads and he heard Blaise call after him. “Way to run away from a conversation, mate!”

Draco stepped up to the bar and ordered another drink and as the man beside him moved he was struck to see her so close. She was smiling as Tom talked to her and she turned to look at him, the smile left her face. “Hermione,” Draco said softly.

“Draco. Here alone?” He shook his head and pointed over his shoulder at his table of friends who held up their drinks to the two of them and Draco rolled his eyes. Sometimes his friends made him crazy. They were entirely too nosy for their own good. “Ah. I see the gang’s all here.”

He smiled. “Greg couldn’t make it. Pansy is keeping a tight tether on him since she’s pregnant with twins and is confined to the bed.”

“Pansy and Greg? Really?”

He nodded. “Yes. She’s really whipped him into shape. You should go see him. He always liked you.”

She didn't respond to that, but instead she turned and studied the group. “But I see that the majority are all there…and Katie Bell?” she said with a hint of confusion to her tone. The last she heard, Katie Bell hated the Slytherins and Draco after she touched that cursed necklace in Sixth year. 

“She’s with Marcus,” he said pointing to his glass to order another drink. He tried not to stare as he knew that it would be a losing battle. He realized when he saw her how much he truly missed her. He missed her smile, her laugh, her bossy tone she took on whenever she was trying to show someone how to do something. There was so much that he had missed about her that it actually made him physically ache.

At that she raised her eyebrows. “Now, that I didn’t know. How long?”

“About a year. I think at first it was just shagging but Marcus is madly in love with her.”

She gave him a sad smile. “How nice for them.”

He moved the conversation away from that topic. “What about you? Here by yourself?”

“Harry and Neville should be here any minute, now.”

“Weasley not coming?”

“He’s working on some case. Couldn’t be torn away.”

Tom set her drink in front of her and then Draco’s. “Why don’t you join us until they get here?” He didn't think she would accept the offer as it was obvious she didn't want to be anywhere near him, but he had to at least try to prolong the conversation, if just to be near her.

“I don’t want to intrude on your group,” she said and then waved over Draco’s shoulder. “And Neville just walked in. Thanks for the offer, though.”

His shoulders sagged and he held up his drink to her. “Good to see you again, Hermione.”

She nodded and walked away from Draco and over to Neville. Draco slowly made his way back over to his friends who all looked at him sympathetically. Blaise was the first to speak. “That looked awkward. Was it as awkward as it looked?”

Katie elbowed Blaise. “Your lack of tact never ceases to amaze me.”

“Come on, if you can’t take the piss out of your mates what’s the point in having them to begin with?”

Draco rolled his eyes and tried to keep his focus off of the corner booth across the room where Hermione and Neville were seated. In fact, he was planning to leave as soon as he could.

*~*

Hermione had put her back to their table as she didn’t want to be tempted to stare at him. It wouldn’t do to want him. He was taken and there was nothing that would change that. He had made his choice years ago, and his family had meant more to him than she had.

“I wondered how long it would be until the two of you bumped into each other,” Neville commented.

“Not long enough,” Hermione said as she took a sip of her drink.

“I don’t know. Looked like you were getting along to me.”

She shook her head. “I can get along with anyone. But being able to carry on a conversation is entirely different than…you know, I don’t really want to talk about this. It was painful enough all those years ago, I don’t feel like rehashing ancient history.”

Harry slid in beside her. “Katie just invited us to join their table,” he said as he looked at Neville and then Hermione.

“I can’t believe you would even make that suggestion.” Hermione folded her arms over her chest, affronted that her past pain meant so little to her friends.

Harry furrowed his brow. “Why?”

Neville looked at the table. “He’s gone.”

“Who’s gone?” Harry asked.

“Malfoy.”

“Oh! Good, then there’s nothing to keep us from joining them!” Harry said as he stood and Neville followed. Hermione rolled her eyes and followed her friends over to the table where the men at the table pulled other chairs so they could join them. Hermione was furious to see that she was seated beside Astoria. But Harry and Neville were already involved in conversation with Marcus and Katie about the Canons and so Hermione sipped her drink in silence. 

Theo and Astoria, however, seemed interested in her and sparked conversation. “How long has it been since you’ve been back to the Leaky?” Astoria asked.

“I was here a few weeks ago. Celebration for my return,” she answered, trying not to kill Astoria with words or looks. She noticed the large diamond on her finger. “That’s a gorgeous ring.” She hoped that it didn't sound as bitter as it tasted when she'd said it.

She smiled and admired it. “Thank you. My husband did a splendid job of picking it out,” she said as her thumb rubbed against the back of it.

“Thank you, my dear,” Theo said as he placed a kiss on the back of her hand.

Hermione’s eyes widened. “Wait. You’re married to each other?”

Theo tilted his head. “Yes.”

“Since when?”

“Nearly five years,” Theo said as he looked to Astoria for confirmation. She nodded her head and then turned her attention back to Hermione.

Harry turned his head as he heard the conversation. “You didn’t know that?” Harry asked.

Hermione felt tears welling in her eyes and shook her head. “No,” she whispered, but she was nearly certain that no one heard her.

Astoria looked at Hermione and frowned. “Draco never told you we didn’t get married?” Hermione shook her head and Astoria rolled her eyes. “That man!” She turned and faced Hermione fully. “Draco’s company started to flourish because all he did was work on making it a success. He really threw himself into it once you left. And once the company was thriving he didn’t need to marry me and he found out that Theo and I wanted to get married and he sent us off and had us elope and paid for the wedding himself.”

Hermione blinked several times and could feel her heart beating against her chest. Harry frowned. “Ginny said she told you.”

She shook her head. “Owl service was spotty sometimes…” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “What else don’t I know?”

Theo spoke up. “Lucius died two years ago and Draco moved back into Malfoy Manor to help care for his mother. He’s still extremely single, despite some of our attempts to set him up with someone else…”

Neville elbowed him at that. “He’s done nothing but work on making Malfoy Enterprises a success and he’s achieved it. He owns a Quidditch team, a broom company, and his labs are leading the way for research in overcoming memory loss and distortion.”

She abruptly stood. “I have to go,” she said and Harry stood as well. 

“Come on,” Harry said and held out a hand to her, escorting her out of the building.

Harry apparated them to Grimmauld Place where she was staying until she could find a flat. And she was thankful of that fact when they landed in Grimmauld and she nearly collapsed onto the floor. Harry caught her and escorted her to the sofa and sat her down, then took the seat beside her. She was certain she was going to launch into a full-blown panic attack any second.

“You never asked about him,” Harry said after a few silent moments.

She shook her head. “I didn’t want to know how he was moving on without me,” she whispered. “I couldn’t hear how he had made a life with someone else.”

He sighed. “All of this could have just been avoided.”

“No. He still...he still didn’t love me enough...”

Harry turned and faced her, a frown etched onto his face. “Maybe he was stuck between his loyalty to his family and his love for you.”

She closed her eyes. “It doesn’t erase what happened, Harry.”

“No. And by no means am I making excuses for him, but you didn’t hesitate to leave the second he turned out to be what all of us had been saying. I think...somewhere along the way you were expecting him to disappoint you. That was your out.”

She shook her head and swiped at the tears that rolled down her face. “I thought...” she buried her head in her hands and tried to control her overwhelming emotions. “He hurt me, Harry.” She took a deep breath. “He didn’t deny that he was going to marrying another woman. He didn’t deny that it was because I wasn’t Pureblood.” She allowed a sob to escape her lips, her torment and pain flowing out freely. “He had proclaimed to love me but at the same time he wasn’t willing to stand up and fight for what we had. He hurt me.”

He nodded. “All facts I can’t deny. But the truth was, you were looking for something, any reason, to find a fault. You got offered that job in New Delhi, you were torn, the article was printed, and you left.”

“It wasn’t that clear cut.”

“You had one argument, and from what you said, it wasn’t even much of one. It was him agreeing to everything you accused him of and you leaving. You packed up and were gone the next day. I couldn’t find you for two months.” He leaned back on the sofa and rubbed his temple. “You were scared and you ran.”

She rolled her eyes. “When did you get to be so insightful?”

He put a hand on her shoulder and smiled. “All these years sitting at the Leaky Cauldron with assorted Gryffindors and Slytherins and you don’t think we all had your entire relationship mapped out? What else do you think we talked about when we were done talking Quidditch? We analyzed other people’s relationships and narrowed down on the problems.”

She swiped at her eyes again. “And so, this is what you guys came up with?”

“Actually...Katie was the ringleader of this theory. And given her current relationship with Marcus, I think she would be a pretty decent authority on it.” He sighed. “My theory, though, was always that you were a little ashamed of your relationship with him. For whatever reason. You hid it from us for a long time, you went so far as to deny that you even had genuine feelings for him, and you took off at the first true sign of trouble.”

She was silent for a moment and then leaned back on the sofa, her heavy sigh telling Harry he was mostly right about his assumptions. “To be fair, the ‘first true sign of trouble’ was an announcement in the Daily Prophet that he was engaged to another woman.”

“Admittedly, that’s a big sign.”

“Huge,” she answered.

“But, since he’s not married, not attached, and from what all of us can gather still heavily, totally, and completely in love with you, what are your plans? Because...” he said as he held up a hand to stop her from interrupting, “it’s taken a very long time for all of us to bury the Slytherin/Gryffindor hatreds for one another. Malfoy is usually one of the people that goes pub crawling with us from time to time. Blaise, Ron, Theo, and I all go to Quidditch games together. Katie and Astoria are best friends. If this is going to come between all of our friendships that we’ve made...maybe you’re better off just leaving it alone.”

She shook her head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Well, if I know you, you’ll make a list of pros and cons and decide from there.”

“That simple?”

“It’s how you decide things. Or how you used to decide things. You’ve been gone a long time. I’m not sure I know you anymore,” he said sadly. 

She put her head in her hands. “I’m sorry I left.”

“No. You’re sorry that you leaving hurt people. I don’t for one minute believe you’re sorry that you left.” He nudged her with his elbow. “Hermione, if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you don’t want to cause anyone harm. And I think, in the long run, you leaving probably did more good.”

“Thanks,” she deadpanned.

“No, hear me out before you think I’m telling you something bad. You left, which meant that Ron and I had to find someone else to occupy our time. We started going to the Leaky and that’s where we met up with Theo. Theo introduced us to the rest of the group, including Malfoy, but he didn’t join us a lot at first. Once Malfoy Enterprises was up and running smoothly, he was there more often. But his ‘engagement’ to Astoria made Theo realize how much _he_ loved her. He had been in complete denial about it at first. The company took off, and Astoria told Draco that she loved Theo. Theo had drunkenly declared a few nights later that he was hopelessly in love with Astoria. Draco convinced them to elope.”

“I can’t imagine Lucius was happy about that.”

“Livid as I recall. But Astoria and Theo were married by the time Lucius saw the picture in the paper. Nothing he could do about it at that point. Then he tried to marry Draco off to Daphne...”

“Daphne is a lesbian,” Hermione said as if Harry didn’t know that. 

“We’re all very aware that she is. In fact, when she showed up to their engagement party, she brought a date in the form of Cho Chang and took the opportunity to make sure that their kiss ended up on the front of the Daily Prophet with Draco smirking in the background. Apparently, he had put her up to it.”

She shook her head. “This is a lot to take in.”

“And then there was Pansy, a last resort for Lucius to marry his son off to a wealthy Pureblood princess here at home.”

“Pansy is with Greg.”

“Yes, and who do you think orchestrated that?”

Hermione frowned. “What did he do?”

“Convinced Greg that he needed a party planner for his parents anniversary party and that Pansy would be perfect for the job. Then there was a birthday party for Greg’s little sister to plan. Again, Pansy was nominated by Draco for the job. It ended up that Greg spent so much time with Pansy that he fell hopelessly in love with her and declared this at his own surprise Birthday party that Pansy had planned on her own.” He shook his head. “Draco worked very hard all these years to remain single.”

She heaved a sigh. “So, three relationships formed out of my leaving.”

“Five.”

“Five?”

“Yes, you’re leaving out Marcus and Katie and Millicent and Neville.”

“Millicent?”

“And Neville.”

“My head is spinning.”

“We all spent so much time together that it all kind of happened. The only one who has remarkably remained unattached the entire time, except for the engagements that never really got off the ground, is Draco. Now, why do you think he would go through so much trouble to avoid not just one, but three weddings?”

“I get it, Harry.”

“Do you? I firmly believe that he’s only ever been in love with you. I would hate for you to squander that sort of thing away.”


	3. Tragic Love Affair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Kim (aka amethyst18) for betaing this for me and for even going through my first draft of my PP fic. You're the best and I hope you know it!

Hermione was standing in line at the Ministry waiting to order a cup of coffee. She only hoped that her eyes didn’t look as puffy as she feared. The building still looked the same, except the fountain had been changed to a memorial for those who had lost their lives during the war. She knew far too many of their names, and part of her felt incredibly guilty for their not being here. No matter the time that passed, Hermione always thought that maybe they could have done more sooner. 

She ordered her coffee and waited as the woman behind the counter began making it and she looked around some more at the vast room and nearly lost her balance at seeing Draco walking through the massive hall, a petite blond at his side. She said something to him and he laughed, she could hear it from where she was standing. She always loved hearing him laugh and he didn’t do it quite enough in her estimation. 

The woman at his side casually put her arm through his and they walked together, oblivious of her heartbreak once more. Harry had been wrong. He wasn’t still in love with her. He had obviously moved on. And here she was, wallowing in the pain and heartache she’d experienced five years ago. However, the pain shifted into anger, and the barista handed her coffee to her, and Hermione stormed off towards the lift to her office.

*~*

“I really appreciate you helping us, Draco.”

He shook his head. “No problem at all, Tracy.”

She linked her arm through his and looked at him. “Adrian will be thrilled to get this pitch and for all of it to have gone through as a surprise!? I can’t wait to see the look on his face when I tell him that our Pitch permit went through and that he has to thank you.”

“His tongue would explode before he thanked me,” he said with a laugh. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he was being watched, but turned back to Tracy. He stopped outside of the Floo and handed the piece of parchment to her. “Here’s the permit. Enjoy.”

Draco’s attention was suddenly turned and he watched as Hermione passed both he and Tracy and went for the lifts. “Ah, Hermione Granger. Katie said she was back.”

He nodded. “Yes.”

“Spoken to her?”

“Briefly. It was awkward.”

“I’m sure it was. I can’t imagine what it would be like to find out that the man you’re in love with is going to marry someone else.”

He sighed. “Thank you for that glorious recap of my pain.”

“Pain you caused, Darling,” she said with a sad smile. “You know where she’s working. Go see her.”

“I don’t think...she wants to see me.”

“Which is the problem. We Slytherins tend to over-analyze everything. We look for all scenarios and in the end, we usually pick the easiest one with the most rewards. But maybe it’s time you took some advice from her house and be a little impetuous. You’ll never mend what’s broken between you if you don’t speak to one another.”

Draco turned his attention back to Tracy. “If possible, when you tell Adrian how this pitch came about, please try to take a picture. I’d like to savor the shock on his face.”

Tracy laughed. “I’ll do what I can. See you tomorrow night for dinner?”

“Yes. Who’s place is it at this week?”

“Supposed to be Pansy and Greg, but I don’t think she’s feeling up to it. You might want to go by and visit her. I'll be heading over there later this evening.” He nodded. “But Blaise has offered to host this week.”

“At least the wine will be good,” he said and leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek. “See you later.”

*~*

“I’m sorry, but Miss Granger has requested not to be disturbed,” she could hear her assistant say to someone. 

Suddenly, a knock sounded on her door and it opened. “Whoops. Looks like I’m disturbing her against your valiant efforts to keep me out.”

Hermione felt a lump in her throat at seeing Draco standing in her doorway. She could feel the animosity of her assistant from inside her office. “Angela,” Hermione called and she stuck her head inside. “It’s fine,” she said and the other woman relented and soon the clicking of a keyboard could be heard from the front desk.

Draco closed the door behind him and then admired her office. “Wow, this is really nice.”

“Are you here to talk about the office or is something else on your mind?”

 _Just like Granger to make me work for it._ He had made the rather impulsive decision to come see her, just to try and feel out if she was even willing to talk to him, much less attempt at something else. “I...I wanted to stop by and tell you how great it was to see you last night.”

That took her back a bit. Draco had always been so guarded with his true feelings and emotions that for him to declare that sort of took her by surprise. “Yes, Harry, Neville, and I joined the rest of the group later.”

He lowered his head. “I see. So, I was the problem?”

She heaved a sigh. “From my perspective you can understand why, right?”

“I suppose I could five years ago. A lot has changed since then.”

“Has it?”

Draco furrowed his brow and frowned. “Have I done something to you recently?”

“No, everything is pretty much as I remember it. I have a lot of work to do, if you don’t mind.”

He felt like she had just taken her sensible flat shoes and stomped on his heart. “Right. Apologies for disturbing you,” he said as he turned and left her office. She heard the door to the outside office slam and she closed her eyes, willing off the tears. She put her head in her hands and took several deep breaths and tried to remain calm. Seeing Draco, despite all her best efforts, was still so able to make her feel things. Anger and hurt coming to the forefront. But there was also incredibly longing that she hadn’t anticipated. It made the hurt all the worse. 

*~*

Harry found Hermione during lunch and sat beside her. “I was just looking for you.”

“Well, you found me,” she deadpanned. “You’re a wonderful investigator.”

“Shut it,” he said with a smile. “How’s your day so far?”

“Could be better.”

“Why? What happened? Let me guess. You met Englbert.”

She furrowed her brow. “Who is Englebert?”

Harry’s face mixed with surprise and his cheeks flushed a little. “Oh...he’s just...a temperamental old man...likes things the way they are...tends to try and start revolutions whenever a new law is mentioned...”

Hermione heaved a sigh. “No, I have not met Englebert, but I doubt he’ll cause me as much frustration and anger...”

Harry propped his head on his hand. “Let me guess, you got a visit from a wealthy business owner today.” She didn’t look at him as she ate a grape. “I thought you had decided to talk to him before you got angry, again.”

“I didn’t have to talk to him.”

He sighed. “What happened?”

“I think you are all over inflating Draco’s feelings for me. His ability to move on and move forward is astounding, really.”

Harry stared at her confused. “What happened, Hermione?”

“Nothing, simply saw him with the flavor of the week.”

That didn’t make much sense to Harry. Rumors being what they were, mostly accurate, Blaise insisted that Draco was still extremely single and extremely not over Hermione. 

Harry frowned. “Why don’t you go with me later to see Pansy and Greg.”

“Why would I do that?”

“You always got along with Greg after the war, and Pansy is confined to bed-rest due to her pregnancy. Besides, our social circles intermingle, you might as well get used to it.”

Hermione shrugged. “Fine. I have nothing else to do.”

He smiled. “That’s the spirit. I'll be here around six to get you.”

She nodded and watched him walk away.

*~*

When they entered Greg’s house, Hermione could hear people laughing from the front drawing room. “Greg,” Harry called out and was soon greeted by the still very bulky Gregory Goyle. Only the bulk was different. Instead of it just being size, she could see that Greg had taken on an exercise regime and was more muscle than anything else. 

“Potter,” he said with a nod and then turned to Hermione, a bright smile on his face. “Hermione! I heard you were back in town!” he said as he stepped forward and embraced her in a hug. 

She smiled and hugged him back. “Greg. You look so different,” she said as she stepped back. “A whole new man.”

“I found something to do with my time other than eat. And between you and I, Pansy seems to like it,” he said with a wink.

“Is Pansy in there?”

“Yeah, with Tracy.” He turned to look at Hermione. “You remember Tracy, right? She was a Slytherin in our year. She married Adrian Pucey a few years back,” he said as he led the way into the other room with Pansy and Tracy. Hermione stopped at seeing Tracy. She was the blond she had seen Draco with earlier.

“Potter, please tell me you have some of Mrs. Weasley’s wraps for my swollen ankles,” Pansy pleaded. “It’s the only thing that works!”

Harry held his hand out to Hermione who was staring at Tracy. Again, she had let an assumption color her view of Draco and once again she had been hurt because...

“Hermione,” Harry said to her and she looked at his outstretched hand, bringing her out of her racing thoughts. “The wraps I gave you earlier...”

She nodded and reached into her bag and removed three separate wraps. “Right,” she said as she handed them over to Harry who then handed them to Goyle. 

“She said she’ll have some more ready for you next week.”

“That woman is a saint,” Pansy said as she wiggled her toes at Greg. “Please do the honors,” she said with a smile. “Why don’t you all have a seat?”

Hermione was thankful they’d been invited to sit down because her head was still spinning. Draco had come in to talk to her and she had treated him horribly because she thought, once again, he was a less than honorable man. “So, Hermione, what brings you back to dreary ole London?” Tracy asked before she took a sip of her tea.

“I took a job with Magical Law.”

“Oh, impressive. I probably could have come to you to get the Sports organization to allow us to build a pitch at our home, but I had a friend pull some strings to surprise Adrian.”

“Your husband?”

Tracy nodded. “Yes. He plays for Puddlemere, against Draco’s wishes. He wants him on the Canons...”

“Draco owns the Canons?”

“Purchased them last year. He’s already managed to sign Marcus and Katie. He simply wants Adrian to make it the best. I believe after he finds out what Malfoy did for him today he’ll have to reconsider the offer.”

“What exactly did Malfoy do?” Hermione asked.

“Oh, well, it appears that as owner of the Canons he can agree or disagree to allow a rival teammate to have certain equipment. They want to keep it fair, after all, and everyone should have fair access to equipment and fields, etcetera. But the Canons’ former owner always refused to allow us to put a pitch behind the manor. Since Draco took over, he has allowed several other teams to do this, the Harpies being the first on the list, but he wouldn’t allow Puddlemere players. I think he mainly wanted to stick it to Adrian.”

“What convinced him to change his mind?”

“I did,” Pansy said with a smile. “I told him that if he wanted Adrian on his team, he had to show that he was fair when he _wasn’t_ on the team. Appeal to the greedy side of a Slytherin and you manage to get along with them better.”

“And Pansy told me of the conversation that she’d had with Draco. I decided to surprise my darling husband on his birthday with the plans to build the pitch that Draco signed. He’ll be stunned. Draco made me promise to try and get a picture of his face when I told him.”

Everyone except Hermione laughed and she just looked around the room at the assorted people there. She examined Pansy, who now had a poultice wrapped around her swollen feet. Greg was massaging Pansy’s calves as she ran her fingers along the back of his head. “I’m glad you two found one another,” Hermione said softly.

Greg looked over at Hermione, a deep frown on his face. “It almost didn’t happen.”

“Draco saves the day, again,” Tracy said with a smile.

Harry spoke up then. “Hermione thought he married Astoria.”

Pansy made a scoffing sound. “Draco would have rather eaten glass. Tori is much better with Theo.” However, Pansy then turned her full gaze to Hermione and narrowed her eyes. “Is that why you’ve been gone so long? Because you thought they had gotten married.”

“No. I’ve been working in India.”

“Convenient how that job opportunity presented itself the day after Lucius had that announcement put in the Prophet,” Pansy snapped.

Hermione felt her hackles rise and didn’t like her tone. “What are you implying, Pansy?”

She shook her head. “Nothing. Well, alright, maybe something. You really hurt our friend.”

Hermione heaved a sigh. “There was an announcement in the paper that he was to be married...”

“And you fought and left.”

“He didn’t say he wasn’t going to marry her.”

“He didn’t say he was, did he?” Pansy questioned. Hermione thought back on the conversation, reliving every detail of it and took a deep breath. “Just as I thought.”

As silence filled the room, Hermione felt her face flush and looked over to Harry. “I’m going to go.”

“Hermione, wait, don’t go,” Greg said as he removed Pansy’s feet from his lap. 

“Today was my first official day at the office and I’m just really tired.”

Pansy had her arms folded over her chest and resting over the large bulge of her pregnant belly. It was obvious that she wasn’t going to apologize and Hermione didn’t feel much in the way of doing the same, either. 

She patted Greg on the shoulder and heard Pansy mutter. “Watch her run away. It’s what she’s good at.”

“Pansy,” Tracy hissed. “That’s rude.”

“And uncalled for,” Harry chimed in.

Hermione made it back to the apparition point and tried to calm her breathing before she stepped in. She felt tears prickle her eyes once again. When the Floo to her left flamed up, she turned her back to the person who had entered. “Sorry, I’m in the way,” she said as she moved.

“Hermione?” She stilled at hearing his voice and turned slowly to see a concerned Draco. “Are you alright?”

She frowned. “I hardly know.”

“Did something happen? Pansy?! Are Pansy and the babies okay?”

She nodded and watched as relief seemed to flood his face. He furrowed his brow. “Then what’s got you so upset?”

“I’ve spent...five years with...are you with anyone? Tell me honestly. Are you seeing anyone?”

He couldn’t hide his surprise at that and then shook his head. “No.”

She didn’t know why but that made her cry harder and she leaned her head against him and sobbed. He wrapped his arms around her and placed a kiss atop her head. “Please don’t cry. I always hated it when you cried,” he whispered.

She composed herself and stood straight, staring at him. His grey eyes were full of concern. The day’s stubble along his chin made him appear older and she wanted to reach up her hand and brush her fingers over it. She pulled back abruptly from his arms and stepped into the apparation point and was gone. He stared at the empty spot for a few minutes when he was suddenly joined by Harry. “Did you see Hermione before she left?”

He nodded. “She was really upset. What happened?”

“Pansy,” Harry said with a sigh. “She’s fiercely loyal to you and she snapped at Hermione.”

He rolled his eyes. “Wonderful.”

“Maybe it was. No one has really confronted her about her leaving like Pansy did. But I’m going to head home and check on her.”

He frowned. “Wait, she’s staying with you?”

Harry nodded. “Yes at Grimmauld. You know the address, right?” he asked with a smile before he apparated out as well. He was torn between going after Hermione and going to see his friend who obviously had defended him.

Pansy won out and he moved into the room to find Tracy, Greg, and Pansy all seated. “Draco, I didn’t hear you come in,” Greg said as he stood and shook Draco’s hand.

Draco looked down at Pansy, a slight smirk on his face. “I hear that you’ve been a naughty girl.”

She smiled back at him. “I haven’t done anything to anyone that they didn’t deserve,” she said before he embraced her. 

“Do I want to know what was said?” He asked as he knelt beside the sofa and looked at Tracy with a smile and then back to Pansy.

“I was merely defending you, darling.”

“I assumed as much by what Potter said. What were you defending me of doing?”

“She said you hurt her and I told her that you never actually said were going to marry Tori. I think it clicked then that she ran away and no longer had a valid excuse.” She took a deep breath. “And we found out a bit of information as well. She thought, all this time, you had been married to Tori.”

Draco furrowed his brow. “She didn’t know the engagement had been called off?”

Greg sighed. “I got the feeling, Draco, there was a lot she was still processing.”

Tracy was the first to speak. “Why are you still sitting here? Go after her.”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure she wants me to.”

“I think she’s wanted you to since she left,” Tracy said. “Call it woman’s intuition.”

He placed a kiss on the back of Pansy’s hand. “How are you feeling?”

“As big as this manor,” she said with a pout. “Potter brought me some of Mrs. Weasley’s wraps, though, so that’s helping.” She brushed her hand over his face and smiled. “You need to shave.”

“I like the stubble, thank you,” he said as he looked over to Greg. “Do either of you need anything?”

Pansy shook her head. “Only details of what happens when you leave here.”

Draco rolled his eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I don’t kiss and tell. And you should be very happy about that fact,” he said before he released her hand and walked out of the room.

*~*

Hermione was seated at the large table in the kitchen and stirred her tea. Her mind wasn’t on tea. Her mind was trying to process all the information it had received in the last two days. She had been so wrong for all these years. When she had cut off ties from her friends, she had missed so much. And she knew that they all thought she simply didn’t want to talk to Draco which is why they never brought him up or mentioned him. The clock in the hall dinged ten and she was saddened to know that all of this that had happened and she had wasted so much time.

“Still up?” Harry asked as he entered the kitchen and pulled out a bowl of cold spaghetti and began eating it. With a wave of his wand, he could have it warmed up in second, but her friend liked the taste. 

“I’m thinking.”

“Ah, the thing you do more of than any other person on the planet.”

She frowned. “Did I make a mistake coming back?”

He paused, his fork half-way to his mouth. “No.”

“Just like that? No? I was content with my life in New Delhi. I got things done, I learned more about law...I didn’t feel like I had been wasting my life...”

“And you feel like that here? You’re the head of your department, and will probably be damn fine at it. We’ve all missed you. Having you back has been great, and I’m even happier that you’re here.”

She sighed. “I feel like I made a huge mistake, Harry.”

“Are we talking about you coming back or are we talking about your dealings with Malfoy?”

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “Both.”

Harry leaned over and hugged her. “You can fix the last one.” 

“You were right,” she whispered. “The other night when you said I was afraid.”

Harry pulled back and looked over her shoulder, which caused her to turn as well. Draco stood in the doorway, his brow furrowed in confusion. “I didn’t mean to interrupt...”

Harry picked up the bowl of spaghetti and then left the kitchen. Draco watched him go and then turned to Hermione. She stood slowly and then turned to face him. However, the look on his face was one of anger. “Glad to see you’ve been able to pick up where you’ve left off.”

His tone surprised her. “Harry is and always has been my best friend.”

“Great. You know, I think I’m going to go...”

“Wait,” she said as she stepped forward. “You came here for a reason, what was it?”

He heaved a sigh. “Does it matter?”

“It does to me. I saw you earlier today in the atrium of the Ministry. With Tracy.”

He shrugged. “And?”

“And...I thought you were together.”

“Is that why you treated me as you did when I came to your office?” She nodded. “And I hope that you learned that Tracy is married to Adrian Pucey?”

“She told me as much when I met her at Pansy’s. We really need to talk about all of this.”

He nodded. “Obviously.”

She gestured to a chair at the table and she took her seat once more. “Did you ever write me while I was gone?”

He looked over at her and then shook his head. “No, you made it pretty clear that you didn’t want to hear from me.”

“Not even after your engagement with Astoria ended?”

He sighed. “You told me I had lost you. I was certain that meant you didn’t want to hear from me. And things were moving so fast around here with the company and the second attempt to marry me off, followed by the third...then my father passed and I moved into the manor to take care of my mother...I loved you. I missed you desperately. But you made it very clear that it was over between us. And...I just wanted you to be happy.” He propped his head on his hands. “Which is bizarre for me. I’m usually a selfish creature by nature, but...I wanted you to be happy with or without me.”

“I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t want that at all for you,” she whispered. “I wanted you to regret your decision. I wanted you to live with the knowledge that you let me leave...”

“I didn’t let you do anything. You’ve always been more than capable of making your own decisions and acting accordingly.” He ran a hand through his hair.

She cleared her throat. “Then I wanted you to suffer for the fact that you didn’t fight for us.”

“Neither did you,” he accused. “We had one fight, which was a bloody miracle in and of itself, and you left for another continent. I got the message loud and clear that you were done with me.”

She put her head in her hands. “And I thought I was. I thought I was done with this and any feelings I had for you. Five years seemed like enough time to put enough emotional distance between us that it wouldn’t matter to me if I saw you.”

He was silent for a moment and then smirked. “We have the worst communication skills of any couple I’ve ever met.”

She smiled only a little. “Let’s...let’s agree to be totally honest with one another.” He nodded. “I’m not over...us. I’m not over the future that might have happened. I just need you to let me know if there is the smallest chance that we can move on from here and attempt this relationship again.”

He frowned and moved to sit beside her, occupying the chair that Harry had been seated. “It’s what I’ve wanted for so long, Hermione. I just didn’t think you wanted me.”

She reached out and touched his face. The stubble beneath her palm was rough, but she didn’t mind it at all. “We can’t just...jump back where we were. We’re different people, now. But I would love it if we could at least try.”

“‘Do or do not. There is no try’.” She blinked at him several times and he grinned. “It’s all the time I’ve been spending with your bloody Gryffindors. Watching movies and what not.”

She pressed her lips together, however, then smiled. “So, we’re going to date one another. Exclusively.”

He nodded. “Yes. And if you have a problem with something I’ve done, you’ll ask before you jump to conclusions.”

She nodded. “And you’ll...not shave.”

He smiled. “For you, anything.”

*~*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope you liked the role reversal where Hermione was like Wentworth.


End file.
